JEFFERSON TWP — Quinn Hughes didn't expect the feeling to hit her so hard or so profoundly.

She wasn't done.

Not by a long shot.

Hughes always dreaded the day when she'd have to choose between the two sports she loves equally and unequivocally: softball and volleyball.

It was like choosing which limb to sever for the Knoch senior.

“By the end of volleyball season, it just kind of struck me, 'I don't know how I can be done playing sports,'” Hughes said. “Sports have been such a huge part of my life for so long and I can't give that up yet. I had to keep playing both.

“I couldn't pick between them,” Hughes added. “I've always played both and I've always loved both so much.”

So, Hughes set out on a difficult quest to find a school that would allow her to play both sports and that also offered a biology program that fit her academic needs.

The list of those schools was short.

But La Roche University was on it.

La Roche became the perfect fit for Hughes.

“At the end of this softball season, I'm going to be so thankful that I still have four more years of playing,” Hughes said. “I'm not ready to be done.”

Hughes wasn't ready to stop playing softball last spring, but the coronavirus pandemic had other ideas.

Losing out on her junior campaign in softball was heart-wrenching for Hughes, who felt like she and the team were on the verge of something great.

“I remember the day that the season first got canceled and we got sent home from school,” Hughes said. “We had our first scrimmage that day and myself and the team were so pumped up for it because we were working so hard in the preseason.”

When it became apparent the season would not resume, Hughes spent some time soul searching.

Then she made a very important decision; she was going to make the most of the quarantine.

Hughes descended into her basement and lifted in her makeshift gym.

Got stronger. Built muscle.

She watched her diet.

Got leaner. Got quicker. Faster.

“I didn't want to be like most other people and just be lazy and lay around,” Hughes said. “I wanted something good to come out of quarantine. There was nothing to do but stay at home, so I stayed at home and worked on myself every day.

“COVID did help me in a lot of way in a weird way,” Hughes added. “Not only did it improve my physical strength, but my mental strength. I grew to realize what my potential was and I started to see my vertical increase and my speed increase and I just felt like I could be a dominant player on the court in volleyball and on the field in softball.”

Hughes turned in a solid volleyball season for the Knights and is having a standout spring for Knoch as a catcher.

It's a position she had never played until she was a freshman in high school.

She's made it her own.

“We needed a catcher and the former coach (Tim Knappenberger) in his final year of coaching asked me to step in and try it out. I did and he liked what he saw.”

At first, Hughes wasn't a big fan of being behind the plate.

It's a demanding position and not one for the faint of heart.

“Yeah, it's a hard position and I kind of had that attitude my freshman year when I first started playing there,” Hughes said. “Then I realized how much I'm actually in control of the game and I love throwing balls around the entire field. It's fun.”

One of Hughes' strengths is her cannon of an arm. Few baserunners dare steal on her.

“There's nothing more satisfying than throwing someone out at first or someone trying to steal,” Hughes said, grinning.

La Roche will keep her behind the plate, something Hughes is excited about.

This spring, Hughes is just excited to be out on the field with her Knoch teammates again after a painful year away from the diamond.

“It makes us appreciate every little practice this year. Every play. Every game. Every touch on the ball,” Hughes said. “It's so much more meaningful this year because we didn't have a season last year.”